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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2002)
I chi nai \ 211, 2002 w \t u .pori land nhscrx er.com ( Om ni il t <.‘(1 to ( iilt iir n l I )i \ v is i I \ (The ;)(3nrilanit (Observer “ffiiidgÄtig, f?a>Mand ô (iatntn u n itie s” Coyote Hitches Ride at Airport ZiTn nun n n i tu V ita I e n h a r Motivational Talk for Teens Portland State University is hosting the second annual Bridges open house on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m. - 1 :30 p.m. at Smith Memorial Center, 1825 SW. Broadway. Hundreds of high school students are expected to at tend. A motivational speech will be given by Kevin Fuller, founder of “Bridge Builders.” Call 725-5511. Vera Katz’s Address An unexpected rider is spotted on a Tri-Met Airport Max light rail train. The small coyote surprised everyone when it boarded the train at the Airport Terminal Station Feb. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Usually coyotes go out of their way to avoid humans and are more likely to be afraid of people than vice versa. Port of Portland operations and wildlife staff were able to capture the animal and release it back into the wild. Vera Katz, the mayor of Portland will be giving the “State of the City Address” on Friday, Feb. 22 at the City Club, locatedat317SW . AlderSt., Suite 1050. doors open at 11:30 a.m. To make lun cheon reservations, members call 241 - 9242, non-members call 228-7231, or go o n lin e to w w w .p d x c ity c lu b .o rg / forunts.html. Friends of Trees Planting On Sunday, Feb. 24, the Friends of Trees nonprofit agency will plant 400 street trees in the Boise, Eliot, King, Vernon and Sabin neighborhoods. Volunteers interested in assisting are asked to show up at Friends of Trees, 3117 NE. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Equipment and gloves will be provided. History of the Columbia Slough Interested in learning about the Colum bia Slough? An overview that covers the watershed history, hydrology, land use, fish and more will be given at the Pacific Power Metro Operations Cen ter, 7544 NE. 33rd Drive on Saturday, March 2, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Call 281- 1132 to pre-register. Cultural & Community Appreciation Night The Muslim Community Center of Port land will be having a cultural and com munity appreciation night on Satur day, March 2, from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at the Lutheran Inner-City Ministries, 4219 NE. MLK and Skidmore. The event will have live jazz music with appearances by KBOO’s Shaheed Haamid. For tick ets, call 281-7691. photo by D ennis M axweli V P ort of P ortland Mayor Supports OHSU Expansion With Tram (AP) — Mayor Vera Katz has an nounced plans to turn a section of the city into a center for biological science and technology development. A proposed tram would help ferry w o rk ers and re se a rc h ers from the riverfront area up to the OHSU campus but the plan has drawn criticism from neighborhood groups. Katz said the city must get started on development to stay competitive with other cities trying to lure biotech. “The national competition to attract this industry is fierce because bioscience is clean, innovative, and creative and produces direct benefits for human life,” the mayor said. The three reports were produced by specialists in bioscience economic devel opment, transportation planning and traf fic engineering and land availability. The goal was to determine whether Portland has the potential to compete with other cities in attracting a critical mass of private spin-off companies to develop biotech. The key is the 30-year expansion plan for the OHSU campus, Katz said, which includes the aerial tram. “It is the foundation for business growth in biotechnology, medical tech nology, cancer research and specialized medicine,” the mayor said. “If we make the right decisions it will be our next Silicon Forest.” Katz said developm ent will attract com panies that produce high-w age jobs, strengthen central city neighbor hoods and help reclaim riverfront a r eas. But OHSU, perched on the side of the W est Hills, can develop only about 650,000 to 1 million square feet for new facilities. The university has identified an additional 1.2 million to 1.5 million square feet needed for growth, most of it in the North Macadam area between the cam pus and the Willamette River. Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days Volunteers are needed for the Ameri can Cancer Society's Daffodil Days, which is held in Mid-March. This is an opportunity to serve for several hours a week to take orders and payments for bouquets of daffodils from co-work- ers, friends and family. Anyone wish ing to participate, call 1-800-577-6552. Portland Home and Garden Show The GMC Portland Home & Garden Show is one of the largest shows in the country and the top show in the North west. Featuring the number one state flower show in the nation, 22 Showcase Gardens, hundreds of home and gar den booths and a new feature Decorat ing with Antiques. The show will be at the Portland Expo Center until Feb.24. For more information, call 246-8291 or go o n lin e to th e w e b site at www.oloughlintradcshows.com. Historical Tour of Old Town The Old Town History Project presents a45-minute walking tour of Old Town’s Skid Row. Serving as tour guide will be Richard Harris, Executive Director of Central City Concern. The event begins on Friday, Feb. 22 at 12:15 p.m. at 612 NW. Davis Street and end in a local restaurant for an informal group discus sion and no-host lunch. To reserve tour and lunch table space, call 225-0198. Convention Center Kids Auction “Planting Seeds for the Future...Help Our Kids Grow" has been selected as the theme for this year’s auction for Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland. The March 2 event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the organization. Over 600 auc tion items are expected to fill the ballroom at the Oregon Convention Center. Luxury items include jewelry, a sea cruise and hotel stay in Hawaii. Silent auction be gins at 5 p.m. and oral auction begins at 7:15p.m. Call232-0077. 1-5 Upgrade Supported; 4-Lanes Out A plan to address growing congestion on the Interstate 5 corridor from The Rose Quarter to Vancouver has been adopted by a bi-state task force. The Portland/VancouverI-5 Transpor tation and Trade Partnership discussed - but did not recommend - widening 1-5 to four lanes. Specific plan elements include three through-lanes in both directions at Delta Park; a phased light rail loop in Clark County; additional 1-5 capacity across the Columbia River; and interchange im provements at Columbia Boulevard. The draft recommendations also call for the study o f a new road to Hayden Island, west o f 1-5, in the vicinity of the railroad bridge. The task force listened to extensive public comment and reviewed the results of more than 1,500 responses to question naires about transportation issues in the corridor. “I’m really proud of what has been accomplished so far. With the help of the many, many members of the public who have come to our meetings and shared their thoughts and ideas, w e’ve been able to make significant progress in crafting a vision for the corridor,” said Ed Barnes, task force co-chair. I New Development Wanted for Speedway The owners of the Portland Speedway, a 25-acre parcel adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, have put the site up for sale. Development rights were recently sold to former Portland movie mogul Tom Moyer. The track, which opened in 1925, will not hold races this year and probably will be closed for good. photo by M ark W ashington /T hf P ortland O bserver City Sends Out Water Shut-off Notices The City of Portland Bureau of Water Works has resumed sending notices to non-paying customers notifying them of impending water shut-off should their bill remain unpaid. “This achieves a milestone function we have been missing in our new billing system," said Interim Administrator Mort Anouchiravani. “We expect it will make substantial difference in our rate of col lections. The city has not had an automated debt recovery system in place for two years. While most of our customers receive bills, some of those customers don’t pay unless they face losing their water service. “Now that we have the automated sup port for shut-off notices, we expect most of our past-due accounts will pay rather than lose service,” Anouchiravani said. At any point in the series of notifica tions leading to shut-off, the custom er may make payment arrangements to avoid losing water service, city officials said.
